iMac 1.8 G5 20 inch--What are Normal Temps

I thought I would just take a poll on what my normal operating temps should be for a 20 inch iMac G5 with a 1.8ghz and a 250gig hard drive. I have been worried that this thing is cooking inside. I may just be used to my cooler running G4 MDD (steady 55 C all the time). This iMac is currently sitting at about 144F but will spike to about 160F when playing games etc... The hard drive temp is what is really worrying me...constantly sitting between 130F and 138F. Is this normal...Just do not want to have to buy another hard drive in the future. Is there a way...or should I say should I attempt to adjust the fan kext file to adjust the fan speed at different temps like I did on the MDD...(sorry, the question mark key is stuck and will not work)...

Thanks much,
Robert

MDD Dual 1.25, super, combo, 2 gigs, Mac OS X (10.4.10), 12" PowerBook, 2 iMac 1.8 20 inch G5s

Posted on Sep 14, 2007 3:50 PM

19 replies

PJB

Level 2

365 points

Oct 21, 2007 8:48 PM in response to RRack

Ideally, you should be able to sort this out with Apple.

But,

I know it's underhand, but you could sell the machine on to someone else and use the proceeds to buy a new iMac.

RRack Author

Level 1

7 points

Oct 26, 2007 12:51 PM in response to MGW

Just a quick update...Earlier I completely pulled the system apart. I also only recommend doing this if you are pretty mechanically inclined. These things are pretty tricky in putting back together. Especially, a little white plastic tube for the sleep light. After pulling the PSU, Fans, Superdrive, and tons of screws, I got the board out. I actually left a bunch of plugs attached down near the sleep light and sort of hinged it out towards the bottom. Then you can clearly see the screws that holds the copper heat sink onto the board from underneath. There are actually two places that I could tell to replace the compound....On the processor under the copper sink and the opposite side of the board which is I believe the video processor. It sits against a large aluminum plate that is attached to the lower metal skeleton of the system. The compound on this one was crispy and flakey. I completely cleaned it off...threw on some silver compound...and put it back together. So far it looks like it really dropped the CPU temps. Now under heavy loads, rendering, converting to .mp4s, etc. it maxes out at 155F! It also seems to have lowered the hard drive temp quite a bit also....It was actually fairly easy for me and so far seems to have paid off...

MGW

Level 7

27,083 points

Oct 26, 2007 1:01 PM in response to RRack

Good for you!

User uploaded file

virg

Level 2

395 points

Oct 26, 2007 4:53 PM in response to Bosco45

Well Bosco45, I'll try to answer your question. What gives Miriam a "self appointment" expertise? With over seven thousand posts which have helped hundreds of forum members and with years of experience with MACs...I think these are credentials enough.

Now with your "12" posts and just coming on forum; you have a little way to go...

Message was edited by: virg

Message was edited by: virg

Message was edited by: virg

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iMac 1.8 G5 20 inch--What are Normal Temps